2009
Tuesday
November
24

Us towns yet

"No US towns yet.", author Paul Knox is on the Cittaslow International Scientific Committee : how a community understand what this is about, and how Cittaslow towns are doing sustainability as well.

"Slow Cities? Swedish sustainability? Collaborative networks of small towns across the world are coming together to share knowledge and drive innovation, particularly when it comes to sustainable living. Heike Mayer and Paul L. Knox of Virginia Tech are authors of a new book on small town sustainability.

New York City may still compete fiercely with Tokyo and vie for corporate investment and a better spot in global city rankings, but small towns across the world recognize that such competition does not help them -- and indeed hinders their progress towards achieving a more sustainable future. While large cities are still engaged in zero-sum competitions, small towns have recognized the limitations of such an approach especially when it comes to solving complex, multi-scalar public issues such as global warming, climate change, economic recessions, social inequities and the recent global financial ‘meltdown’. Small towns are instead spearheading efforts to improve their quality of life and sustainability by forming collaborative, transnational networks that facilitate information exchange and help disseminate best practices."

Continue to read www.planetizen.com/node/38302